ung
men, and chatted with them in quite a motherly way. These young fellows
had to come to the Palace each morning very early, but as no man was
allowed to stay all night in the Palace they of course had to leave when
they had finished their duties for the day.

When Her Majesty heard what my mother said, she was very much surprised,
and asked why she had never been told that my brother was learned in
photography. My mother replied that she had no idea that Her Majesty
wished to have a photograph taken, and had not dared to suggest such a
thing herself. Her Majesty laughed, and said: "You may suggest anything
you like, as I want to try anything that is new to me, especially as
outsiders can know nothing about it." She gave orders to send for my
brother at once. On his arrival Her Majesty said to him: "I hear that
you are a photographer. I am going to give you something to do." My
brother was kneeling, as was the custom of the Court, whilst Her Majesty
was addressing him. Everybody, with the exception of the Court ladies,
had to kneel when she was speaking to them. Even the Emperor himself was
no exception to this rule. Of course the Court ladies, being constantly
in attendance, were allowed not to kneel, as Her Majesty was talking to
us all the time, and it was her orders that we should not do so, as it
would be wasting a lot of time.

Her Majesty asked my brother when he would be able to come and take her
photograph, and what kind of weather was necessary. My brother said that
he would go back to Peking that night, to fetch his camera, and that he
could take the photograph at any time she desired, as the weather would
not affect the work. So Her Majesty decided to have her photograph taken
the next morning. She said: "I want to have one taken first of all in
my chair, when going to the audience, and you can take some others
afterwards." She also asked my brother how long she would have to sit,
and was surprised to learn that only a few seconds would suffice. Next
she enquired how long it would be before it was finished, so that she
could see it. My brother answered that if it were taken in the morning
it could be finished late the same afternoon. Her Majesty said that was
delightful, and expressed a wish to watch him do the work. She told
my brother that he might select any room in the Palace to work in, and
ordered a eunuch to make the necessary preparations.

The next day was a beautiful day, and at eight o'clock m